Equation of state of cubic hafnium(IV) nitride having Th3P4 -type structure

Pressure dependence of the specific volume, V(P), of the recently discovered high-pressure compound Hf₃N₄ having cubic Th₃P₄-type structure (c- Hf₃N₄) has been measured at room temperature up to 43.9 GPa in a diamond anvil cell using energy-dispersive X-ray powder diffraction combined with synchrotron radiation. A least-square fit of the Birch-Murnaghan equation of state to the experimental V(P)-data yielded for c- Hf₃N₄ the bulk modulus of and its first pressure derivative of . For fixed at 4 the bulk modulus of c- Hf₃N₄ was determined to be . The obtained B₀-value is only insignificantly below that estimated in preliminary measurements. Existing theoretical predictions for B₀ scatter around the present experimental data. The observation of a high bulk modulus of c- Hf₃N₄ supports the suggestion that this compound could have high hardness.     

Cascade reactions for constructing heterocycles containing a pyrimidino-pyrazino-pyrimidine core using 1,2,4-triazole scaffolds

The regioselective cyclocondensation of aminoethyl-1,2,4-triazoles and glyoxal provides pentacyclic heterocycles in which two 7,8-dihydro-5H-6λ²-[1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidine systems are connected through CH(OH) bridges generating a central piperazine-2,5-diol ring. The structure of the new compounds was elucidated based on ¹H, ¹³C and ¹⁵N NMR spectroscopic methods. The molecular structure of the parent compound generated from aminoethyl-1,2,4-triazole was established by single crystal X-ray diffraction.     

Short‐lived Phenoxyl Radicals Formed from Green‐Tea Polyphenols and Highly Reactive Oxygen Species: An Investigation by Time‐Resolved EPR Spectroscopy

Polyphenols are effective antioxidants and their behavior has been studied in depth. However, a structural characterization of the species formed immediately upon hydrogen‐atom transfer (HAT), a key reaction of oxidative stress, has not been achieved. The reaction of catechin and green‐tea polyphenols with highly reactive O‐centered H‐abstracting species was studied at the molecular level and in real time by using time‐resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. This mirrors the reaction of highly reactive oxygen species with polyphenols. The results show that all phenolic OH groups display essentially identical reactivity. Accordingly, there is no site specificity for HAT and initial antioxidative events are demonstrated to be largely ruled by statistical (entropic) factors.     

Assembling novel heterotrimetallic Cu/Co/Ni and Cu/Co/Cd cores supported by diethanolamine ligand in one-pot reactions of zerovalent copper with metal salts

The three novel heterotrimetallic complexes [Ni(H2L)2][CoCu(L)2(H2L)(NCS)]2(NCS)2 (1), [Ni(H2L)2][CuCo(L)2(H2L)(NCS)]2Br2.2H2O (2), and [CuCoCd(H2L)2(L)2(NCS)Br2].CH3OH (3) have been prepared using zerovalent copper; cobalt thiocyanate; nickel thiocyanate (1), nickel bromide (2), or cadmium bromide (3); and methanol solutions of diethanolamine in air. The most prominent feature of the structures of 1 and 2 is the formation of the "pentanuclear"aggregate [[Ni(H2L)2][CoCu(L)2(H2L)(NCS)]2]2+ made up of two neutral [CoCu(L)2(H2L)(NCS)] units and the previously unknown cation [Ni(H2L)2]2+ "glued together" by strong complementary hydrogen bonds. With Cd2+ instead of Ni2+, a different structure is obtained: the [CoCu(L)2(H2L)(NCS)] unit is now linked to the Cd center through coordination of the oxygens of L groups on the Co atom to form the discrete heterotrimetallic molecular species 3. Cryomagnetic measurements of the compounds show that, in all cases, the magnetic behavior is paramagnetic; the polycrystalline EPR spectra contain signals due to monomeric copper species only. At the same time, the EPR spectra of frozen DMF and methanol solutions of 1-3 reveal the presence of triplet-state species that can be generated only by a coupling of the Cu2+ centers within a dimer. The species responsible for the appearance of transitions within the triplet state are thought to be Cu(II) dimeric centers formed by aggregation of two [CuCo(H2L)(L)2] fragments of 1-3 present in solution. The residual monomeric spectra in the g approximately 2 region are indicative of the existence of an equilibrium in solution between the dimeric and monomeric Cu(II) centers in aggregated and free [CuCo(H2L)(L)2] fragments, respectively, with varying degrees of stability. The fragmentation process of 1-3 in solution was screened by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.     

Spectroscopic investigations of bis(sulfoximine) copper(II) complexes and their relevance in asymmetric catalysis

The structure of Cu(II) complex 3 formed within the course of a stereoselective Diels-Alder reaction was investigated by EXAFS, CW-EPR at X- and W-band, HYSCORE, pulsed ENDOR, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The experimental techniques indicate that the chiral bis(sulfoximine) ligand (S,S)-1 and the dienophile form a tetragonally distorted complex in CH(2)Cl(2). The ligand binds to the Cu(II) center via the imine nitrogens, whereas the dienophile interacts via the carbonyl oxygen atoms. The additional sites of the first coordination sphere are occupied by counterions and, presumably, solvent molecules. At the axial position, a triflate anion binds via an oxygen atom.     

Photophysical Investigations on Photoinitiators with Covalently Linked Thioxanthone Sensitizer Moieties

The photophysical properties of three photoinitiators with a covalently linked thioxanthone sensitizer unit absorbing up to 410 nm were investigated by laser‐flash photolysis and CIDNP spectroscopy. These complementary techniques revealed two competing reaction pathways of the molecular dyads 1 – 3 : i) triplet‐energy transfer from the sensitizer to the morpholine moiety followed by α‐cleavage to yield a radical pair, which initiates radical polymerization, and ii) bimolecular electron transfer from the morpholine to the thioxanthone subunit followed by proton transfer. The relative efficiency of these routes is determined by the triplet energy of the photoinitiator moiety relative to that of the sensitizer.     

Transmission X‐ray scattering as a probe for complex liquid‐surface structures

The need for functional materials calls for increasing complexity in self‐assembly systems. As a result, the ability to probe both local structure and heterogeneities, such as phase‐coexistence and domain morphologies, has become increasingly important to controlling self‐assembly processes, including those at liquid surfaces. The traditional X‐ray scattering methods for liquid surfaces, such as specular reflectivity and grazing‐incidence diffraction, are not well suited to spatially resolving lateral heterogeneities due to large illuminated footprint. A possible alternative approach is to use scanning transmission X‐ray scattering to simultaneously probe local intermolecular structures and heterogeneous domain morphologies on liquid surfaces. To test the feasibility of this approach, transmission small‐ and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering (TSAXS/TWAXS) studies of Langmuir films formed on water meniscus against a vertically immersed hydrophilic Si substrate were recently carried out. First‐order diffraction rings were observed in TSAXS patterns from a monolayer of hexagonally packed gold nanoparticles and in TWAXS patterns from a monolayer of fluorinated fatty acids, both as a Langmuir monolayer on water meniscus and as a Langmuir–Blodgett monolayer on the substrate. The patterns taken at multiple spots have been analyzed to extract the shape of the meniscus surface and the ordered‐monolayer coverage as a function of spot position. These results, together with continual improvement in the brightness and spot size of X‐ray beams available at synchrotron facilities, support the possibility of using scanning‐probe TSAXS/TWAXS to characterize heterogeneous structures at liquid surfaces.     

1-Azaspiro[3.3]heptane as a Bioisostere of Piperidine**

1-Azaspiro[3.3]heptanes were synthesized, characterized, and validated biologically as bioisosteres of piperidine. The key synthesis step was thermal [2+2] cycloaddition between endocyclic alkenes and the Graf isocyanate, ClO₂S−NCO, to give spirocyclic β-lactams. Reduction of the β-lactam ring with alane produced 1-azaspiro[3.3]heptanes. Incorporation of this core into the anesthetic drug bupivacaine instead of the piperidine fragment resulted in a new patent-free analogue with high activity.     

CL-20 photodecomposition: ab initio foundations for identification of products

1,5-Dihydrodiimidazo[4,5-b:4'5'e]pyrazine, 1H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyrazine, and 1H-imidazole were considered as possible products of 2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) photodecomposition. Since we took as a reference the product obtained after CL-20 irradiation in methanol solution, the nature of intermolecular bonds between heterocycles under study and methanol molecules was analyzed in detail. Existing hydrogen bonds were found to be quite strong, so dependence of calculations results on an influence of solvent was taken into account using both the polarizable continuum model (PCM) and the supermolecular approach. Electronic spectra of 1,5-dihydrodiimidazo[4,5-b:4'5'e]pyrazine, 1H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyrazine and 1H-imidazole were simulated using time dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) and single-excitation configuration interaction (CIS) method. We observed that TD-DFT excitation energies are lower if compared to corresponding values obtained by the CIS method. Results of calculations with PCM and the supermolecular approach are very close. It was found that differences between calculated gas phase excitation energies and those values obtained by applying solvent models increases when the number of conjugated bonds in a molecule increases. Oscillator strengths of UV bands of the considered molecules are higher in the gas phase than in modeled methanol solutions. We found that the predicted spectrum of 1H-imidazole is in close agreement with the experimental UV spectrum of the CL-20 photolysis product.